It's so great that Mortal Kombat is good again. After the original trilogy of infamous arcade games took the world by storm in the early 1990s, and helped create the video game rating system in the process, the series began to lose its way amid 3D experiments, middling movies, and comic book crossovers. But 2011's Mortal Kombat was the best kind of reboot, bringing the franchise back to its beloved roots and establishing its creators at the newly formed NetherRealm Studios as a fighting game force to be reckoned with. Mortal Kombat X ($59.99), the direct sequel, can't help but lack some of that rejuvenated energy, and the new ideas it does feature rarely make an impression. However, that doesn't stop this from being a beautifully bloody bash.

Mortal Kombat X also marks the franchise's debut on the next-generation of consoles. I tested it on the Xbox One but it's available for the PlayStation 4 and PC as well. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions mean last-gen players aren't left out either.

Back to the FutureAs it retold the events of the first three Mortal Kombat games, Mortal Kombat 2011 created a template for seamlessly linking cutscenes and combat in arguably the most lovingly produced fighting game campaign ever. Mortal Kombat X uses that same template to tell a new story with even more care put into it. Twenty years after the defeat of Shao Kahn, peaceful Earthrealm and warlike Outworld have entered an uneasy truce as the fallen Elder God Shinnok threatens them both. For a series about ninjas ripping heads off, the lengthy cinematics spend an absurd, but thankfully skippable, amount of time on interdimensional politicking and the psychological baggage characters have gained in the past two decades. Veterans like Sub-Zero and Jax are now gray-haired and bitter while, a new generation of Kombat Kids, like Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade's daughter Cassie, struggle with the weight of great expectations.

Less Is MoreWhile the plot never makes the best argument for the time skip, these intriguing new character status quos do. A healthy mix of aged classic combatants, like Raiden and Kung Lao, and fresh-faced youngsters, like bee woman D'Vorah and Outworld cowboy Erron Black, give the pared-down, 23-character starting roster a sense of focus lacking in the more bloated MK games. Meanwhile, the new Variations system makes up for the smaller cast by giving each fighter three distinct fighting styles to choose from. For example, picking Scorpion's Inferno Variation at the start of a match allows players to summon demon minions mid-fight. Hellfire Scorpion gains fiery punches and kicks, and Ninjustu Scorpion adds swords to the ninja's arsenal. Compared to mid-match stance and weapon changes in past installments, this system provides extra gameplay depth in a much more elegant way. Players only need to worry about the Variation they've chosen for that particular fight. But don't worry, no matter which Scorpion you choose, you can still tell opponents to "get over here!" with the tip of your spear.

Character variations and the future setting are the most obvious new changes. The rest are smaller tweaks that mostly just refine already great systems in Mortal Kombat 2011 and 2013's DC Comics fighter Injustice: Gods Among Us, also from NetherRealm. Two buttons control punches, two control kicks, one blocks, and various button combinations activate special moves. Stiff animations continue to plague the series, but combos are noticeably more fluid. A newly added stamina meter limits how often players can run or interact with the environment. So if you choose to toss that poor beggar in the background at your foe make sure it counts. These adjustments don't add too much, but the fighting foundation they are built on is so solid it's hard to care.

Quarter MuncherUnfortunately, the same can't be said about Mortal Kombat X's broader changes. Finding opponents across the globe is simple and improved netcode reduces crippling latency. But for its other online features, the game seems to take many cues from the mobile market. Players can even unlock content using the companion mobile app. Some of this functionality is pretty neat. Challenge Towers return to test players' ability to adapt to random modifiers like poison and missiles. However, now they update hourly and incentivize players to snag loot and bragging points while they can. On the other hand, Faction Wars, where players worldwide compete to earn points for five different online clans, just feels like pointless grinding in comparison.

But the most maddening mobile-esque move by far is the game's collection of microtransactions. Paying a few bucks for DLC characters like Goro or Jason Voorhees is totally fine, even if it is annoying that others like Tanya already appear in the campaign. But having to pay for Easy Fatalities with simplified inputs is grosser than the Fatalities themselves.

Lovely BonesStill, watching those Fatalities washes away Mortal Kombat X's issues in a sea of crimson bodily fluid. It helps that this is the most beautiful the bloodshed has ever been. X-Ray attacks zoom in on every breaking bone, collapsing lung, and grimacing face. Returning Brutality moves turn normal attacks into unexpected gruesome finishers. Even during peacetime the game looks stunning with its gorgeous environmental effects. And of course, what good would Mortal Kombat's trademark, game-ending Fatalities be if they didn't present the most fantastical ways to end a person's life. I won't spoil them all, but lets just say you may never think of a selfie the same way again.

Mortal Kombat X-CellentMortal Kombat fans feared that the success of the reboot would once again lead the series down the road of aimless feature creep that brought on the reboot in the first place. But if anything, Mortal Kombat X goes in the opposite direction creating a fighting game that knows exactly what it wants to be, nothing more, nothing less.

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About the Author

Former PCMag intern Jordan Minor is a senior editor at sister site, Geek.com, and really just wants to use his fancy Northwestern University journalism degree to write about video games. He's previously written for Kotaku, The A.V. Club, Cards Against Humanity, and 148Apps. In his spare time, he also writes dumb screenplays that occasionally become... See Full Bio

Mortal Kombat X (for Xbox One)

Mortal Kombat X (for Xbox One)

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